Genesis 35
35
1In the mean time, God said to Jacob: Arise, and go up to Bethel, and dwell there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to thee when thou didst flee from Esau thy brother.
2And Jacob having called together all his household, said: Cast away the strange gods that are among you, and be cleansed and change your garments.
3Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, that we may make there an altar to God: who heard me in the day of my affliction, and accompanied me in my journey.
4So they gave him all the strange gods they had, and the earrings which were in their ears: and he buried them under the turpentine tree, that is behind the city of Sichem.
5And when they were departed, the terror of God fell upon all the cities round about, and they durst not pursue after them as they went away.
6And Jacob came to Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, surnamed Bethel: he and all the people that were with him.
7And he built there an altar, and called the name of that place, The house of God: for there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother.
8At the same time Debora, the nurse of Rebecca, died, and was buried at the foot of Bethel under an oak: and the name of that place was called, The oak of weeping.
9And God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him,
10Saying: Thou shalt not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called him Israel.
11And said to him: I am God Almighty. Increase thou and be multiplied. Nations and peoples of nations shall be from thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins.
12And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to thee, and to thy seed after thee.
13And he departed from him.
14But he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him: pouring drink offerings upon it, and pouring oil thereon:
15And calling the name of that place Bethel.
16And going forth from thence, he came in the springtime to the land which leadeth to Ephrata: wherein when Rachel was in travail,
17By reason of her hard labor, she began to be in danger, and the midwife said to her: Fear not, for thou shalt have this son also.
18And when her soul was departing for pain, and death was now at hand, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, The son of my pain: but his father called him Benjamin, that is, The son of the right hand.
19So Rachel died, and was buried in the highway that leadeth to Ephrata. This is Bethlehem.
20And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre. This is the pillar of Rachel's monument, to this day.
21Departing thence, he pitched his tent beyond the Flock tower.
22And when he dwelt in that country, Ruben went, and slept with Bala, the concubine of his father: which he was not ignorant of. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve.
23The sons of Lia: Ruben the firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Juda, and Issachar, and Zabulon.
24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
25The sons of Bala, Rachel's handmaid: Dan and Nephtali.
26The sons of Zelpha, Lia's handmaid: Gad and Aser. These are the sons of Jacob, that were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.
27And he came to Isaac his father in Mambre, the city of Arbee, this is Hebron, wherein Abraham and Isaac sojourned.
28And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.
29And being spent with age he died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 35
35
God Blesses Jacob at Bethel
1 # Gen 28.11–17 God said to Jacob, “Go to Bethel at once, and live there. Build an altar there to me, the God who appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.”
2So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have; purify yourselves and put on clean clothes. 3We are going to leave here and go to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who helped me in the time of my trouble and who has been with me everywhere I have gone.” 4So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and also the earrings that they were wearing. He buried them beneath the oak tree near Shechem.
5When Jacob and his sons started to leave, great fear fell on the people of the nearby towns, and they did not pursue them. 6Jacob came with all his people to Luz, which is now known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan. 7He built an altar there and named the place after the God of Bethel, because God had revealed himself to him there when he was running away from his brother. 8Rebecca's nurse Deborah died and was buried beneath the oak south of Bethel. So it was named “Oak of Weeping”.
9When Jacob returned from Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again and blessed him. 10#Gen 32.28God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but from now on it will be Israel.” So God named him Israel. 11#Gen 17.4–8And God said to him, “I am Almighty God. Have many children. Nations will be descended from you, and you will be the ancestor of kings. 12I will give you the land which I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, and I will also give it to your descendants after you.” 13Then God left him. 14#Gen 28.18–19There, where God had spoken to him, Jacob set up a memorial stone and consecrated it by pouring wine and olive oil on it. 15He named the place Bethel.
The Death of Rachel
16Jacob and his family left Bethel, and when they were still some distance from Ephrath, the time came for Rachel to have her baby, and she was having difficult labour. 17When her labour pains were at their worst, the midwife said to her, “Don't be afraid, Rachel; it's another boy.” 18But she was dying, and as she breathed her last, she named her son Benoni,#35.18 Benoni: This name in Hebrew means “son of my sorrow”. but his father named him Benjamin.#35.18 Benjamin: This name in Hebrew means “son who will be fortunate”.
19When Rachel died, she was buried beside the road to Ephrath, now known as Bethlehem. 20Jacob set up a memorial stone there, and it still marks Rachel's grave to this day. 21Jacob moved on and set up his camp on the other side of the tower of Eder.
The Sons of Jacob
(1 Chr 2.1–2)
22 # Gen 49.4 While Jacob was living in that land, Reuben had sexual intercourse with Bilhah, one of his father's concubines; Jacob heard about it and was furious.#35.22 One ancient translation and was furious; Hebrew does not have these words.
Jacob had twelve sons. 23The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob's eldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. 24The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 25The sons of Rachel's slave Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali. 26The sons of Leah's slave Zilpah were Gad and Asher. These sons were born in Mesopotamia.
The Death of Isaac
27 # Gen 13.18 Jacob went to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac had lived. 28Isaac lived to be 180 years old 29and died at a ripe old age; and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.